Connections to the Past
by The-Angel-With-Broken-Wings
Summary: She loved him once, and was lost. Thousands of years later, they cross paths again. Will they be able to look past the pain to find each other again? KaibaxOC
1. Prologue

Whoo! A second fanfiction of mine. If you don't like OCs, then GO AWAY. No one is forcing you to read this, so don't flame.

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_She screamed, a sharp sound, as the last blow fell upon the stone slab before her, which shattered and fell, becoming to rubble on the ground. Her voice seemed to disappear as she tried to speak further. The dimly-lit room began to spin and her eyes blurred with tears._

_There were orders shouted from the far end of the room. She took the hand of the man beside her, the one dressed in robes that reflected deep blue and gold tones from the firelight. There was more shouting that she refused to hear. He turned his head to look at her, utter defeat on his face._

"_Its all gone..."_

_He caressed her tan cheek with his hand, wiping away with his thumb the salty tears that flowed endlessly. Her hand landed upon his, feeling the rings that were seated there. She begged him to do something, anything, but he couldn't. She already knew it was impossible to change the deal now. She embraced him, burying her face into the soft cotton fabric. His hands came to her shoulders as he forced her to face him. But no words of comfort came forth, nor any other expression of regret. His icy eyes bore into hers, trying to get his feelings across without words._

"_Please say something."_

_Her voice was barely audible, and it quivered beyond her control. The priest leaned in toward her, his lips by her ear. Before she could hear the last words of her love, the Pharoah's orders were fulfilled. The priest's pained expression. Her tear-stained face. Both images were burned into each other's minds for eternity._

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Kaiya awoke with a start, for her head had made painful contact with the window she was leaning on. The train had come to a full stop, and there was a barely audible announcement coming from the speakers on the ceiling. She groggily lifted her backpack onto her back, and dragged her suitcase out of the train behind her. There was bright white and blue sign that welcomed people to Domino City in a seemingly overly-cheerful way. She mentally made a note that she hated the new city already. Taking a slip of paper from her sweater's pocket, she read the address and tried to figure out where to go next.

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Not much information here... v.v Oh well. I promise it will get more interesting.


	2. Welcome to Domino City

_Locked in an unfamiliar room, she sat alone and cried endlessly, for lack of a better plan. She was alone for hours, not hearing a word, not seeing a soul. Her sole companion was the single candle that was quickly burning out._ _Out of the silence came the echo of footsteps on stone. A light was visible from the barred door, glinting from golden reflection_. _She refused to look at the intruder, but flinched at his touch on her back._

"_Don't touch me," she snapped, obviously not caring to whom she was speaking._

"_He's left you," the voice said quietly._ _His golden trinkets clinked gently as he kneeled beside her._ _"He staked your freedom on a shadow game, and he's lost. He left you here."_

_She bit her lip and hugged herself, suddenly cold. The man stood and extended his hand to her. _

"_You can stay in the dungeon, or you can come with me. Your services are needed within the palace."_

_Feeling like a traitor to the only man who loved her, she accepted_ _his hand and left the dungeon with him._

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Kaiya watched the passing buildings with bitter resentment. Not that she wanted to move from her hometown or her friends, but daddy-dearest gave her family no choice. Better yet, she had to spend a month without her parents in the new house; just to 'settle the house' before they arrived. Oh, joy. She shot a cold glare into the rear-view mirror. The old pervert that she'd gotten for a taxi driver had given her a subtle pat on the ass before allowing her inside, and now he was grinning to himself.

_Perverted old fuck._

As she resumed staring out the window, she kept a mental list of how this new city couldn't possibly compare to where she previously lived. The city just gave her some feeling that she couldn't describe. _Everything_ was wrong with it, even though she'd spent less than an hour in Domino City.

Kaiya reached into her handbag and retrieved her solid black cellular phone. She gritted her teeth in annoyance at the thing. The stupid dog had chewed it, and the stupid cat had left scratches on it. It was a wonder that is still worked. She flipped it open, dialing the number for her voicemail, and waited for the messages to play. She sighed as she leaned her elbow on the window and rested her head in her hand. The driver looked up once more, smiling, and Kaiya returned his smile with a perfect view of her finger. He chuckled to himself as her messages began to play.

"_One new message. Monday, twelve forty-two P.M.. Kaiya,_" the secretary said, then her father's gruff bark through the phone. She lowered the volume and continued listening. "_Kaiya, it's dad speaking. By now, you've arrived in Domino City, and by now you've decided not to call in and check with us. Well, that doesn't matter. Just send me a message when you get this. You have the address of our new house, and the moving men are going to arrive at two with the keys. Make sure you're there to take the furniture that they bring into the house. While we're gone, mom and I expect you to go to school. Yeah, that's right. No cutting just because you switched schools midyear. And don't think I wont check up on you. You're also expected to get a job and keep the house clean_. _Kaiba Corp. might give you a job if you mention me. Well, make sure you text me. Bye._"

Kaiya's father promptly hung up, and she forcefully closed her flip-phone. A job? Sure. Right. Thanks for not wiring money to your underage daughter, dad. She's in a strange city by herself, but it's all good. Let her live alone, and go to school, and work long hours, and cook, and clean, and . . . and . . .

Kaiya's mind trailed off, watching the old driver carefully. They had reached the designated street, but the driver had not slowed the car to look for the house number.

"Don't you dare pass my house on purpose."

She narrowed her eyes in another piercing glare at the man, who shook his head and slowed down.

"Young girls these days . . . " he grumbled to himself.

He pulled up in front of a two-story house in the outskirts of the city and turned the key, shutting off the engine. He got out of the car, slamming the door behind him, and went to the rear of the car to open the trunk.

Kaiya quickly brushed herself off when she got out after him, and stretched her limbs after the long ride. Removing the crumpled slip of paper from her wallet, she checked the address of the empty house.

"What a dump," she announced to herself, even though there was nothing visibly wrong with the house. It _was_ located in a pleasant neighborhood. Its outer walls were painted white, with a dark wood finish for the trimmings and the small balcony located in the front. There was a small yard that was bare, except for the bright grass, and a driveway.

"You want me to take these inside?" the driver asked, interrupting her inspection.

Kaiya shook her head, her green eyes glaring icily at him.

"I'm fine, thank you. How much is the ride?"

The old man's smile faded and he seemed to realize he was defeated. He grumbled to himself and looked toward the cloudless sky as he calculated her total.

"That'll be one-hundred and sixty-two, even," he finally stated blandly.

Kaiya's grip tightened on her wallet, and her eyes shot back up to the driver.

"Excuse me? I think you're wrong."

"Yeah? Well, I'm the one who drove you, and I think I know how much it costs," he snapped.

Kaiya slowly reached out to her door, and slammed it shut with a force that rocked the car a little.

"Well, then. I don't think that you can read very well. Let me help you, then. It says right here that the initial charge is two-fifty . . . Oh, let's just round that to three. Then its another one twenty-five domino for every kilometer we drive. According to your meter, you drove sixty-three kilometers. If I'm correct, I _should_ be paying you about eighty-two or so. But, I'm just a young girl, aren't I? What do I know, right? But . . . look what else is printed next to the prices. Your name and company's telephone number! Would you like me to call and verify with them? You know, just in case I got the numbers wrong."

The driver stood there speechless, with his mouth agape, and his eyes transfixed on Kaiya's piercing green-eyed glare. She reached into her wallet, pulling out the foreign currency and placing it in the driver's breast pocket.

"I can take my bags up by myself, thank you. And should you _dare_ to touch me again, I'll make sure that your boss gets a friendly call."

Without another word, the plump man scurried to his car and drove away quickly, his tires screeching in protest.

Without keys, Kaiya sat on her front step waiting for the moving men with her family's furniture. She flipped her cell phone open, and closed . . . open, and closed . . . a thousand times before the men arrived with one long truck full with treasures that her family had collected throughout their lifetimes. How she _hated_ her furniture. It was all ancient . . . wait, pardon me, _antique . . . _and good for little more than gathering dust. She greeted the men in a gruff, but polite way, and allowed them to unlock the door, hand her the keys, and begin moving things inside.

"Please, just be careful. You can place the furniture wherever you like."

She sat on one of the stools brought inside and watched as some familiar objects came into the house, one by one. The couch, refrigerator (ordered online, and sent to the house), kitchen and coffee tables, and a sofa chair were all brought into the house along with smaller objects, such as lamps and dishes.

The tallest of the men approached Kaiya with a clipboard and asked for a signature for the delivery.

"Wait a moment. This can't be it. Where are the items from my room? From my parents' room?"

The man shrugged, "This is all we were instructed to bring."

Kaiya grumbled to herself as she scribbled her name on the line and thanked the men for their hard work. Once they left, Kaiya closed the door, locking it firmly, and sat on her couch. She dialed her father's business number, knowing that it would bother him, and waited.

"Yes?" her father snapped.

"It's me, _Dad._"

"What are you calling me on my private number for? You know I need this for business," he growled.

"Where are my things, Dad?" Kaiya asked, trying to keep her voice calm.

There was some background noise, and she heard her father speak to the noisy group in rapid German before returning to her.

"All of it couldn't fit, so we only sent over some of our things."

"Don't you dare lie to me, Dad!" Kaiya shrieked, standing. "All that's here are a couple of tables, lamps, the fridge, and the couch! That's not even half of our furniture. I don't have a bed to sleep on!"

"Calm down," he returned. "There's nothing wrong with sleeping on the couch, and your furniture is here, safe at home. It's coming over next month, when your mother and I get there-"

Kaiya promptly hung up on him and sat for several long minutes, trying to control her anger.

How _dare_ he leave her in an empty house?! No money, no furniture, nothing! How in did he expect a seventeen-year-old to survive on her own?

_You're smart, Kaiya. You can do it!_

Yeah. Those words were comforting when she was little, and Daddy cared enough to help her out with the little problems.

Kaiya checked her watch, and mentally calculated the present time to be about four in the afternoon. The sun was still shining brightly in the sky, and people were still out and about in the city, but Kaiya was utterly exhausted. She wearily trudged her way to the basement, nearly falling down the stairs because she couldn't find the light switch, and checked the electricity meters in the basement. Nothing seemed to be spurting red sparks, or emitting smoke, so she deemed it to be in order. Once upstairs again, she checked the water and found that it was working as well. She went to the room in front of the house, with the balcony, and claimed it for her own as she began to unpack a little bit of her suitcase. Removing the necessities, such as soap and a towel, she went to the bathroom and relieved her aching muscles with a soothing shower. She dumped her traveling clothes in a corner, and retrieved new, fresh clothes from her open suitcase. Once changed, she returned downstairs, and promptly fell asleep on her dusty couch.

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It was the next morning when Kaiya finally awoke from her deep slumber. Her back cracked painfully from hours of sleeping on a couch that was certainly not made for sleeping. She grumbled incoherently to herself as she trudged over and around the boxes that lined her floor. When she reached her destination, the kitchen, she kicked boxes aside, looking for the coffee brewer. Kaiya located the magical device and set it upon the empty kitchen counter, beside the sink, and plugged it into the nearest outlet. She smiled as she thought of the fresh coffee she would be drinking in a matter of minutes. That is, until she realized there was no food in the boxes. Not even something dry and canned, like coffee. She cursed loudly, causing the old lady next door to jump in surprise and look for the cause of the disturbance.

"Coffee, coffee, coffee," Kaiya cried in anguish as she raced up the stairs and dug through her handbag for the wallet she'd carried. She sat on the floor, cross-legged, with the wallet sitting in front of her.

_Oh God of all currency. Please let me have enough money to get some coffee . . . _

Kaiya opened her wallet and dumped the contents out onto the floor. She immediately grouped the similar monies together and counted them several times. She had ten euros, fifteen U.S. dollars, and twenty domino. That had to be enough money. For now, at least. She'd have to find a bank and exchange the rest of her money, and find a job. Kaia sighed deeply as the realization set in. She was _alone. _Utterly alone, and without money or a job. She reached for a pair of dark jeans and a black shirt and began to change. There was no better time than now to start the job search. And she needed coffee really badly.

With a plastic bag at her side, and a warm cup of coffee in her hands, Kaiya sat on a bench in the park that afternoon. It had taken nearly an hour to locate the local grocery store, but the mission was accomplished, and some rations were retrieved with the money she had exchanged. Now, all that was left was a mere five domino. But that could wait. Kaiya closed her eyes ad leaned her head back, feeling the warm sun on her face. The warmth made her feel slightly better, but the twinge of worry remained in her stomach. Within her pocket, her phone beeped twice which signaled an incoming text message. It read: "You have an appointment at Kaiba Corp. Be there 3! Dad."

With that, Kaiya further abused her phone by slamming it shut, and stuffing it into her pocket. She checked her watch and decided to head home to prepare for the job interview.

Walking along the streets, Kaiya noticed something odd. Here, Duel Monsters was everywhere. It seemed that she couldn't pass a single person who wasn't making a trade, or dueling on the street. How sad. Kaiya scoffed mentally and dumped her Styrofoam cup into a bin. She took in a deep breath and looked around, finally noticing a large Kaiba Corporation advertisement in the window of a nearby toyshop. Pictured there were children playing Duel Monsters, and some Japanese characters (which took Kaiya several minutes to decipher). What seemed the strangest was the atmosphere of the poster. Instead of light, and fun (like most toy advertisements should be), it was somewhat gloomy. Shifting her gaze, Kaiya's eyes rested on someone in the backdrop of the poster, with piercing blue eyes and a stern expression. Yeah. That guy was ruining it.

"Window shopping is free, but don't you want to come in and buy something?"

Kaiya was startled by the voice of a young woman who stepped out onto the street, smiling at Kaiya.

"I'm sorry," Kaiya said, trying very hard not to mess up her Japanese. "Can you tell me who is this, right here on the poster?"

The young woman looked a little confused as she followed Kaiya's gaze.

"You mean this man? That is Seto Kaiba, the CEO of Kaiba Corp. Didnt you know?"

Kaiya flushed a little. This seemed like common knowledge, but she didnt know it.

"I'm not from around here," Kaiya grumbled. "Could you tell me where is the Kaiba Corp building, please?"

With an odd look, the shopkeeper pointed behind Kaiya to a tall skyscraper, with the letters 'KC' displayed on the top floors. Kaiya quickly thanked her and rushed off, walking quickly toward her new house.

_How old is that CEO? I thought the owner of Kaiba Corporation would be some dirty old man with too much money. That CEO couldn't possibly be much older than I am..._

Thoughts about the mysterious CEO of the company that her father had just recently signed with made Kaiya's head spin.

_Just wait till Dad finds out that he's working for a kid._

Kaiya sighed and placed the items she had purchased into the new refrigerator: milk, some eggs, bread, franks, and some beer, just for good measure. Hey, if you've got a well-developed glare, why not use it to your advantage? Kaiya sighed as she shut the refrigerator door. She was lonely, and she kept talking to herself. Not out loud, of course. That would mean she'd be going mad.

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"_Excuse me_," Kaiya snarled through her teeth. The secretary on the first floor had been ignoring her quite well and Kaiya was barely holding her anger at bay. "I have _an appointment._"

The secretary lazily looked up and asked for her name.

"Kaiya Watari."

With a sigh, the woman half-heartedly flipped through the pages of the book in front of her.

"You're on the ninety-firstfloorhaveaniceday."

She rushed through the last words as she yawned and Kaiya rushed into the open elevator to avoid further aggravation. Once the doors were shut, she asked if someone would please press the button for the ninety-first floor, which is when she realized that she was in an elevator filled with old men in business suits who were looking at her rather strangely.

"Something I can help you with, gentlemen?" she snapped, and they quickly returned to minding their own business.

Once she reached her floor, she stepped out and looked around. The same marble tiles adorned this floor, and the walls were painted the same blue-gray color. Only this time, there was one desk, with one secretary, and a pair of doors behind her.

"Can I help you?"

"My name is Kaiya Watari, and I have an appointment with Mr. Kaiba at three o' clock."

The secretary nodded, confirming what was in her book.

"Just a moment," she said, and picked up her phone. She held down the first button as she spoke, "Mr. Kaiba, your three o'clock appointment is here."

There was some sort of yelling, or snappy comment, because the secretary winced before hanging up the phone, and sighed as she allowed Kaiya inside.

Kaiya smoothed out her blouse, squared her shoulders and walked inside. The office of the CEO was very simple; the desk faced the door, and the walls were painted a pleasant green color. The wall behind the desk was replaced with a ceiling-to-floor, wall-to-wall window.

_Where the king may watch his subjects..._

Kaiba sat at his desk with his hands folded, his chin leaning against it with an un-readable expression. She extended her hand and walked toward the desk, introducing herself, but was promptly cut off.

"You're here to take the job of my personal assistant?" he asked sharply. His voice was deep and his tone meant that he was all business. His piercing blue eyes were the same as the ones captured on the poster of the toy store. His hair, a dark brown color, fell into his eyes but did not obscure his gaze. He wore a deep green collared shirt with a thin, blue coat over it. He squared his shoulders, and Kaiya could tell that she was under his scrutiny.

_Dad forgot to mention that this was a personal assistant position..._

"I am, sir," she said trying to conjure up a confident smile.

"Get out of my office. You're just a child."

A nerve was struck.

"Excuse me?"

"Get out of my office. I don't need to waste my time with you."

"Well, Mr. Kaiba," Kaiya began slowly as she stuffed her hands inside her pockets and strolled toward his desk. "I don't believe that you've given me a chance. After all, I could be the best personal assistant in the entire world, and you could be sending me right out of your office without a proper interview."

Kaiba studied her for a few moments, then picked up a manilla folder on his desk. He opened it to the first page, and began to read, "Kaiya Watari, age seventeen. Born in Tokyo, Japan. Spent six years in Munich, Germany. Spent the last nine in New York City. Mother: Asune Watari. Maiden name, Jinta. Father: Kosuke Watari, who seems to have signed with my company a month ago. Correct?"

Kaiya nodded dumbly, surprised at the information, but the CEO read on, "You've currently taken residence in the outskirts of the city, but your father is currently is Frankfurt, Germany on business."

"Where did you get all this information?" Kaiya asked, keeping her voice calm.

"Information isn't free, but it certainly is useful. Lets see what's so useful about you..."

The CEO flipped the pages slowly, scanning the lines that dictated her life story.

"So, Watari. It seems that there was a scandal in both New York, and Munich. You were caught in Munich for hacking into government files, but your father cleared that up, no doubt... And in New York, you were found to be working on some computer virus, but that was shut down... You've got quite the résumé."

He closed the file and leaned his chin on the knuckles of his right hand. He watched Kaiya carefully, waiting for her to break; waiting for her to spill her dirty secrets.

"Mr. Kaiba," she said, an attitude change showing. She smiled dangerously, and folded her arms behind her back as she stood before him. "You see, Im not familiar with Japanese laws, but back in the United States, that file you're holding would be an invasion of privacy. And as for the _accusation_ in Munich, that never went through. My father may be rich, and have some sort of influence, but he has better things to worry about than something as petty as his daughter hacking into some government files. And in New York, there was _no_ computer virus. I was in the mainframe of my father's company, and merely making sure all his international accounts were in order. Cant have him laundering money, you know. I suggest that you find a better source next time, and make sure you get your information straight."

Seto Kaiba smirked at the girl who stood in his office and extended his hand to her.

"I believe that you may have a place here, Ms. Watari."

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Short? ; Review and make it longer.


	3. Long Day At Work

1"_Who is she?"_

"_She says she's a doctor."_

"_A doctor? She's a foreigner, is she not?"_

_Voices swirled in her head as she lay. The noise was unbearable, and her head ached painfully. It was hot, too; so very hot. She wanted to ask for water, but her mouth couldn't form the words._

"_Is she saying something?"_

"_That's all she does. She tries to speak, but I can't seem to make out what she is saying. Through her mumbles I heard 'doctor' and 'Seto'._

"_The High Priest Seto? What could she want with him?"_

"_I don't know. That's all she's said for weeks. And she seems in pain. We've given her herbs and potions, but her fever remains high and she moans in her sleep... We found her out in the desert."_

_Seto. Oh Ra, where is Seto? He has to be here somewhere. Seto..._

_The Priest Seto did come to visit this woman, but she could never tell if it was a dream, or if his gentle caress on her cheek was real. He sat beside her and begged the gods to heal her, but sometimes it was only the voices of the women that seemed to be caring for her. But... there he was again, standing before her bed in his indigo robes with gold glinting from the firelight. He placed his golden staff beside her and took her hand gently._

"_Kisara..."_

_Kisara? Thats not me... Seto?_

_He squeezed her hand a little tighter, looking for a sign of life. He begged her to open her eyes, to speak, to do anything that would give him hope._

"_Oh, gods, please don't let her die. Please, I pray with all that I am... Spare her life..."_

_Seto, its me... I can hear you..._

"_Kisara, open your eyes. I beg of you."_

_No, Seto. Im not Kisara... Please, it's me! Its Kaiya!_

"_Maybe the sun's gotten to her. Maybe she's gone mad."_

_Within a matter of days, she died of a broken heart. Her grave was sloppily dug, and left unmarked in a corner of the cemetery. No one knew her name. No one knew who she was. No one knew she had died. And no one knew her relationship with the High Priest Seto. Her death was barely noticed._

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The next two weeks passed without hesitation. Life didn't wait for Kaiya to get settled. No, it continued on whether she was ready or not. She registered herself in the nearest highschool and began attending it regularly. Oh, God, it was difficult getting accustomed to everything being in Japanese. But, it was working out somehow. She had even found that her boss shared classes with her, which came as an awkward surprise. After school, she immediately went home, showered, and rushed off to the Kaiba Corporation building for work. Working as Seto Kaiba's personal assistant didn't seem to have many perks, other than the pay. Seto Kaiba was the most demanding, self-centered arrogant bastard she had ever met. At first, she attempted to hold her tongue, but hours of listening to Kaiba's endless haughtiness made her want to rip her hair out. She quickly became accustomed to using her sharp tongue against her boss. With his assertive demands, and her sharp retorts, it was a constant war in his office. In her mind, she was justified in arguing with his petty demands. He had her file papers, deliver messages to business associates, and run meaningless errands. Didn't all of this seem like the kind of work a personal secretary would do? He had one on every floor! Didn't one of them know how to write up business proposals? Obviously not, if he had to hire another one. She couldn't help thinking that her father had something to do with this. He even had the nerve to order her to place herself on the line and start hacking again, even though she insisted that she hadn't done it in years. He had given her a laptop computer (programmed it himself for certain security purposes) and gave her assignments within his own company to test her abilities.

Work was tiring, and could last Kaiya until late, when she would returned home to eat, do some work for both school and Kaiba corporation, and sleep. It was hard, but nothing could be done about it. While retiring to sleep one night, Kaiya's cell rang sharply, distracting her attention from her much needed rest to the annoying sound that kept her from it. She angrily answered the call and demanded 'what!'.

"Watari, turn your computer on. I want you to hack into my company."

Kaiya blinked a few times, in surprise, as she tried to figure out what was happening. Her boss, Seto Kaiba, had gotten the number of her personal phone, and was now telling her to hack into his company.

"Are you out of your mind!" she screeched, awakening the poor old lady next door. "'Personal Assistant' does not mean that you can so brazenly call in the middle of the night, after I've been in your office all day, might I add-"

"I don't want to hear it," he snapped. "Get on your computer _now_."

Kaiya cursed to herself as she opened the laptop and waited for the main screen to load.

"This couldn't wait until tomorrow?" she growled at the silence on the line.

"Save it," he snarled viciously. "You're lucky to have your job, so I suggest shutting your mouth for a few moments before you lose it."

"Oh, yes sir, Mr. Kaiba, sir!" she mocked as she typed in the password to her computer, balancing the phone on her shoulder.

"Now, someone has been in the computer's mainframe for the past few days," he began, his deep monotonous voice nearly sending Kaiya to sleep. She opened her mouth to remind him that she was in there just yesterday, but he continued, "And what I mean, is that it is someone who doesn't belong there. This mysterious person has been doing it within the company too, using my computers. I have a security setting that I can access from my own laptop in which I can see the history of every computer's actions, and who is logged onto them. But once this person signs on, it all backfires, and each computer suddenly is doing something different."

Kaiya's eyebrows furrowed as she sensed the graveness of the situation.

"What do you mean 'something different'?" she asked quickly.

"I mean, that right now, you are signing onto the internet. My computer tells me so. Once this person comes onto the system, your computer output switches to 'accounting' or 'email', and the serial numbers and ISPs refresh every sixty seconds, so you'll be doing something new in a minute. I have no control over it, and the computers keep changing, so I cant track who is doing it."

Kaiya leaned her elbows on her knees, thinking deeply. She bit the nail of her thumb, looking at the wires that connected her computer to the world.

"Is it a bug, a virus that's doing this? Did it just make it through to all the computers in the building in a company memo or something?"

"If it was something that simple, I would have taken care of it myself," he sneered. "This is definitely a person, and he's hiding what he's doing."

"What's the damage when he signs off?"

"Everything returns to normal. I do a full system scan, and it finds nothing wrong with any software, machinery, or assets."

"There is nothing wrong with anything when this guy signs off the system? That cant be," she said in disbelief. What kind of hacker would hack into a company so prestigious without doing a thing?

"Im still having people look into it. Right now, I need you to find him. He's in the system as we speak."

"Me? Mr. Kaiba, you hired me to be an assistant."

"Yes, and right now you are assisting me," he snapped. "I'm on with you, and I can get you past the first few firewalls of the system. You need to get in through the rest to find him and try and locate the computer he is using."

Kaiya felt her hands grow cold and clammy. She couldn't possibly do this. This was a real dilemma, and it could cost the Kaiba corporation billions if she failed. What was she to do?

"Mr. Kaiba..."

"No. I need you to do this right now, before he leaves the system again."

"If I fail..."

"We'll worry about that when we come to it. Now get in there, the wall's open for you."

Kaiya's hands shook as she placed the phone on speaker, set it beside the laptop, and typed away at her computer. She immediately saw on her screen what she imagined that her boss had on his.

Mr. Iwa was currently looking at the business accounts for the past year, but suddenly his same computer was a Ms. Mitsuki, and she was slacking off by reading her email. Kaiya bit her bottom lip hard. How was she going to find one steady computer in all this mess? Was it even possible? Whoever this other hacker was, his skills were impressive. I mean, he was not only hiding what he was doing, he was hiding within the safety of a bug that hid what everyone else was doing too. Genius, but people have flaws. There had to be one...

"Kaiba, out of all the files and documents and applications that your company workers could be using, which is one that you have never seen show up when this bug takes effect? What's missing?"

"Do you know how many-" he began.

"Think!" Kaiya snapped, feeling panicked. A good hacker didn't stay on long; anyone could be watching, or trying to.

Kaiba paused, and he heard typing on his end.

"I don't recall anyone in foreign business-"

Kaiya nodded to herself as her fingers raced over the keys, trying to find foreign investors, foreign accounts, anything that could lead to a hacker.

"There!" Kaiya exclaimed, slamming down at her keys. "Computer 5725a31 located on the fourteeth floor, cubicle twenty-one! He's in foreign accounting!"

Her boss seemed taken aback, "That's registered to a Misa Kine, and records show that she is away on vacation."

Kaiya's heart nearly skipped a beat at the sentence. Vacation? Was she wrong?

"Its too late," Kaiya sighed, watching the workers go back to steadily working on their spreadsheets. "He's logged off."

There was a pause on Kaiba's end, and he informed her that security had found the computer station was empty and the computer was off. It had, however been in use.

Kaiya's hands were still shaking as she stared blankly at her computer screen. It was over, and she had lost.

"Mr. Kaiba..." she began, feeling her heart drop into her stomach. The guilt was intense, and she felt almost... afraid. She paused for a moment to moisten her lips, but the line was dead.

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Throughout school the next day, Kaiya avoided the gaze of her boss, even though she knew that she would have to face him at the end of the day. In class, she could almost feel a chill as his icy glares hit her back. Could she blame him? She had the opportunity to catch the man who managed to hack into a company so secure, and she almost did, but arrived at the answer too late, and he was gone. In class, she obsessed over her mistake, making notes and lists instead of writing notes... Seto Kaiba would not take this lying down. He would want her fired, or worse; he might want her to try again. The nervous feeling Kaiya had in her gut reminded her of the time she'd broken into the files of the German government. At the time, she was young and merely experimenting, so it was purely accidental. But when the police had arrived at her door, she had the same sinking feeling. The kind that gripped at her throat and consumed her thoughts. In her final class, which she happened to share with Mr. Kaiba, she watched the clock tick away and completely ignored the rambling of her English teacher. Twelve minutes to go...

She casually stole a glance over her shoulder to look across the room, where Kaiba was sitting. He was working diligently, as always, with his notebook out on the desk and the dictionary in his left hand. He scratched away at the paper with his pencil quickly, finishing up all the necessary work. Yeah, he was a real go-getter. One quality that really bothered Kaiya. Kaiba was intelligent. He had to be, after all, to be the CEO of such a company. But he was always working, and was angry when Kaiya demanded coffee breaks. When nothing was being accomplished, he seemed tense and agitated. Kaiya sighed and went back to scribbling away meaningless sentences on her paper. She _surely_ spoke better English than the loon who was teaching them.

The bell rang and Mr. Yumato ordered all the students to place their classwork on his desk before leaving for the day. Kaiya felt her heart drop and looked over her shoulder once more. Kaiba was already packing up his things and getting ready to leave. Kaiya, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to sit in place and avoid facing him. She felt footsteps, and knew he was coming up her aisle.

"Kaiba," she began softly, turning to face him.

"Save it," he snapped without pausing. He continued up the aisle without hesitation, and said, "Ill see you in my office."

_Talk about being cold... _Kaiya thought, feeling the chill.

-------------------------

Kaiya slowly opened the door to her boss's office. She found him inside, but he was in his swivel chair, facing the window instead of the door. She folded her hands behind her back and approached his desk, waiting for him to find the words to attack her with. The wait was long, and Kaiya shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. Why didnt he speak? Why didnt her boss berate her endlessly, as she knew he should?

_He, too, is guilty._

The thought suddenly came to Kaiya. He _knew_ she couldnt possibly find the needle in the haystack, she had told him so and the hacking exercises during the day proved it. She could do a little, here and there, but finding a master hacker? He had to be insane to even consider her as a lifeline. A sarcastic seventeen-year-old hacker stood no chance against someone who could have possibly been training for years to hack into such an elite system. As it turned out, she found this hacker, but a little too late. She went beyond her abilities, and he should not blame her for a thing. That was it; Kaiya's mind was made up and this was her boss' fault.

"Watari."

"Before you speak," Kaiya interjected. "I'd like to remind you that you called me up in the middle of the night, giving me an assignment I wasnt prepared for. None of this should rest on my shoulders."

Her boss swivelled his chair around and slammed his hands on the desk, standing up.

"Of course it should! I told you to find this guy, and you didnt!"

"What I did, Mr. Kaiba, is give you more information on this mysterious hacker than you could find out for yourself!"

A pounding began in Kaiya's head but she ignored it. The utter _loathing_ for her boss overrode her pain. As her words echoed in the vast office, her boss looked utterly shocked and livid, as though someone had never dared to speak to him in such a way.

"How dare you-"

"How dare I what? You're actually _shocked_? You see, Mr. Kaiba, I don't care about my job. You could fire me right now, and I would leave with the same dignity I came in here with. Im not like your other workers. Your employees are pathetic. They wet themselves at the mere sound of your voice. You don't scare me."

The look in Seto Kaiba's eyes was frightening, but Kaiya did not falter. The pounding in her ears grew louder and louder until Kaiya could barely stand to listen to it anymore. She clenched her hands into cold, clammy fists. Her hands shook uncontrollably, as did her arms. She felt a chill run through her body, and the last image she remembered was her boss' shocked face floating above her as she hit the ground.


End file.
